


Internment

by Sharcade



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Anxiety, Claustrophobia, Comfort, Crying, Gen, One Shot, Panic Attacks, Whump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-29
Updated: 2018-06-29
Packaged: 2019-05-30 05:29:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,291
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15090011
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sharcade/pseuds/Sharcade
Summary: Connor and Hank get locked in a closet.





	Internment

"Signs of forced entry," Connor mumbled, running his finger along the door frame and catching his nail on the nicks in the wood. "The door was likely pried open with a metal instrument."

"And then?" Hank questioned, leaning against the wall and folding his arms.

Connor was clever, Hank knew that much. Connor was an admirable detective, Hank knew that too. Connor was hardly ever fazed, staying focused and determined at all times, intelligent and poised,  _imposing._ His eyes followed Connor as the android looked around, taking in any information he could as he pieced the crime scene together in his head. The report had been fairly uninteresting: Somebody had witnessed an unfamiliar man entering their neighbour's apartment while she was away on vacation and had reported it to the authorities justly. Now it was up to Hank and Connor to find out what the issue was.

"The trespasser began searching for items of value," Connor continued, looking around at a few opened drawers and scattered items. "They were careful, but frantic."

"So where are they?"

Connor furrowed his brow, deep in thought. It was always interesting for Hank to watch Connor think over a crime scene; the boy was a genius. Seeing Connor focus so hard and pick up so many impossible details was fascinating. He watched as the android took a few steps forward, seemingly following the suspect's own path as he worked it out in his head. His LED - he hadn't managed to part with it after the revolution, he really did like it - flickered yellow as he carefully walked along, the entire scene coming together perfectly in his head as he stopped in his tracks, motioning Hank to come over. Hank complied quietly, raising an eyebrow as Connor grabbed his arm and pulled Hank down to his level.

"The suspect is still here." he whispered, glancing around as he tried to pinpoint exactly  _where_ the trespasser was. "We should look around."

A few minutes passed of searching before Hank began to doubt Connor's claim. They hadn't heard a single noise, and the suspect could have extremely easily left through the front door before they arrived. That being said, when Connor had an idea, it was almost always correct. Finally, Connor's eyes fell on a small closet. He hadn't checked it yet, and it would line up with the evidence plausibly. 

"Hank," Connor called, taking a few steps towards the closet door. "Over here."

"Found somethin'?" Hank inquired, following Connor as the android approached the door. 

"Possibly." Connor muttered, taking a deep breath before throwing the door open.

Nothing. There was nothing there. Connor glowered slightly and stepped inside, looking around for any traces of evidence he could find. It wasn't a large closet, about a meter by meter of space, so unsurprisingly, nothing of interest was really in there. He sighed, admittedly disappointed that the lead had gone nowhere yet again.

"Don't get all dramatic," Hank yawned, stepping into the closet. "It's not like we-"

And then the door slammed shut.

Connor felt his stomach drop as the lock on the door clicked shut soundly, the sound of heavy feet running away briskly echoing through the large apartment. They were locked in the closet.  _They were locked in the closet._

"God fucking dammit." Hank muttered, trying the doorknob for a moment before reluctantly acknowledging that it was definitely locked. "So now what?"

Connor didn't respond, his entire world suddenly feeling  _off._ Everything was too cramped, he needed space, he needed space  _badly,_ he needed to leave the closet. He could feel his stress levels rising as the sudden onslaught of panic overwhelmed his senses; why was this happening? He felt like he couldn't breathe, he felt like he was shaking, he felt like the room was getting smaller. His hands were shaking, he could feel them shaking, why where they shaking? 

"Connor?"

"S-Something's wrong." he mumbled hurriedly, his hands moving up to grip his hair. "Something's wrong, Hank."

"Woah, woah, calm down, you broken?" Hank coaxed, turning to face Connor in the small space.

"I-I don't know, I-" Connor stammered, swallowing thickly as his eyes darted around. "I want out, I-I can't breathe, I want out."

" _Calm down._ "

"I can't, I-I can't calm down." Connor admitted, suddenly gripping onto Hank's arms as he felt himself go dizzy. 

Hank was stunned, it hadn't even been a minute in the closet and Connor looked as if he were about to collapse. His hands were shaking  _badly_ , he eyes closet tightly as if he could block out his surroundings. Hank paused slightly as he looked over the android; was Connor claustrophobic?

"Connor, you  _can_ breathe." Hank assured, carefully removing the android's hands from his arms. "And if you can't breathe, it's fine. You don't even have to breathe."

Connor took a few shaky breaths, trying to regain his composure. What was wrong with him? He had been locked in places plenty of times, just never this small. Now that he was in  _here_ , however, it felt like everything was far too cramped, everything was closing, he didn't fit. He was going to suffocate, he was going to be crushed, he wanted  _out_. Connor swallowed, his eyes darting around for another brief moment as he tried to find any sort of way out. Logically, he knew that the walls weren't getting any closer, but it sure felt like they were.

"Connor. Focus." Hank insisted, smacking Connor's cheek lightly. "Eyes here."

Connor's eyes snapped back to meet Hank's, his chest rising and falling shakily with his staggered breaths. His stress levels were rising and he couldn't explain  _why_ , this wasn't  _logical,_ this wasn't  _reasonable._ This was fear.

"We're gonna get out, okay?" Hank coaxed, putting his hands on Connor's shoulders. "I'm gonna get the door open. You're okay. I just need you to calm down for a second and back up for me."

Connor nodded shakily, backing up against the wall and covering his eyes, he didn't want to know where he was anymore, he wanted this to be over so that he could understand it. He had no idea why his heart was beating so quickly. He had no idea why he was afraid, and he  _especially_ had no idea why there were tears suddenly jumping to his eyes. Trying his best to focus, he ran a self diagnostic, his systems whirring in the background as he desperately searched for answers.

With a resounding crash, Hank's boot connected with the door, sending it flying off of its hinges and slamming unceremoniously into the floor. Before Connor could even react, Hank had grabbed his arm, yanking him out of the closet. Relief instantly flooded the android's body as he stumbled forward, inhaling sharply in an attempt to  _breathe._ He coughed, looking around at the apartment and panting quietly.

"Holy hell," Hank muttered before sighing and turning to Connor. "So are you gonna tell me what the hell that was?"

"I-I'm sorry." Connor stated quickly. 

"Eh? Sorry for what?"

"My behaviour, I do not know what happened, my stress levels spiked involuntarily and I lost control for a moment. Apologies."

"Hell, Connor, you're probably just claustrophobic."

Connor furrowed his brow for a moment, glancing at the closet. It was a reasonable explanation: A illogical fear response triggered by confined spaces. However, it didn't make sense for an  _android_ to experience phobic episodes.

"Androids can't feel fear," Connor started skeptically. "That wouldn't make sense."

"Deviants do." Hank reminded.

Connor paused, letting the words register. He was a deviant now. Whatever fears he may have had before were certainly going to be more  _prevalent_ now that he could actually experience fear. His thoughts on this were fairly simple.

"That's stupid."

"Welcome to being alive, kid."


End file.
